There's never any doubt within the Clemson
baseball team what the intended destination is each season. The Tigers have it
stitched on the back of their caps and they break the huddle at the end of every
practice by saying it.

Omaha.

As the team opened preseason practice Saturday on a
blustery, frigid afternoon at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, junior ace Daniel Gossett
admitted the team is keenly aware that it's been awhile since it reached its
goal.

"We haven't been to Omaha in three years and this is the
fourth year, and every four years at least under Coach (Jack) Leggett, we have been
to Omaha," said Gossett. "So that's a little more incentive. We can't be that
one team not to go to Omaha. It's been long enough. I've never been. I don't
think anyone on the team has been - we don't have any redshirt seniors - so
it's time. It's time to go. It's time to win."

Clemson won 40 games and made the NCAA Tournament in 2013,
but slumped down the stretch and likely missed its chance at hosting a
regional when it let a five-run, ninth-inning lead slip away in the ACC
Tournament against top-ranked North Carolina.

Forced to go on the road to the hostile environment of the
Columbia (SC) Regional for a second-straight season, the Tigers fell twice to
Liberty and bowed out without facing host South Carolina.

"That was one of the more humbling experiences I've ever
been through," Gossett said. "We were climbing steadily, looking good and
approaching that magic number to host - and to be brought down so fast, it's a
brand-new experience. We've talked amongst the players about how that was one
of the worst feelings.

"Losing out in the ACC Tournament and only winning one
game in the regional, we know that we don't ever want to feel that again. I'm
done with that as a player. We're done with that as a team. We're ready to take
it to the next level and win the last game that we play."

The Tigers have ample reason to be optimistic, as they return
eight of nine position starters and 77 percent of their innings pitched from
last season's squad, which was one of the youngest Clemson teams in recent
memory.

"Everybody is a year better and a year more experienced, and
everybody is ready to get to work starting today and prove that we can be an
offensive team with a great pitching staff," sophomore shortstop Tyler Krieger
said. "Hopefully, that meshes into something of a
national-championship-caliber-type team."

But just because the Tigers return their starting lineup
nearly intact - only centerfielder Thomas Brittle is gone from last
year's regulars - Leggett made sure to point out that didn't necessarily
guarantee everyone of them would keep their jobs.

"The key is this - we have some guys coming back, but
they all have to be better," Leggett said. "If they come back and they're the
same, then we haven't really gone where we need to go. That's why you always
bring in good players. You try to push them to another level and provide
intra-team competition, and if one of them emerges ahead of somebody who's been
here for awhile, so be it."

One of the primary reasons the Tigers - who were picked to
finish third in the ACC Atlantic Division by the coaches - are
optimistic is the return of Gossett at the top of the rotation. The righty had
a 10-4 record and 2.56 ERA in 2013.

"Knowing that he goes out there for us in the first game of
a series is nice because you know he's going to battle, he's going to give you
everything he's got, he's going to throw strikes, he's going to compete, and
he's got pretty good stuff," Leggett said.

Sophomore lefthander Crownover posted a 7-3 record and team-best
2.19 ERA last season despite being limited in innings as he recovered from
elbow surgery.

"Crownover was nine months removed from 'Tommy John' (surgery) and was
throwing 81, and he still had (seven) wins last year," junior catcher Garrett
Boulware said. "This year, he'll have most of his stuff back, and he'll have
one year of experience under his belt and his arm back. He could really do
something crazy this year. He's a really talented pitcher, and he's a really
smart pitcher."

Another sophomore southpaw, Erwin, came on strong toward the
end of last season and finished with a 5-2 record and 3.45 ERA.

"He's bigger and he's gained weight," Boulware said. "He's a
skinny kid, but he's put some weight on, and the ball comes out of his hand
effortlessly, and it jumps. He's got really good stuff, and I think both
(Crownover and Erwin) could be a huge part of our pitching staff."

While the Tigers return eight regular starters among their
position players, one of their top hitters, senior slugger Shane Kennedy, is not
expected to return from a knee injury he suffered in the fall until "mid to
late-April," according to Leggett.

"He's making good progress," Leggett said. "He feels good
about it and he's a strong kid as it is, so hopefully he'll come back quick."

Kennedy was a Second-Team All-ACC performer last season, as
he hit .317 with five home runs, 35 RBIs, and 22 stolen bases, while Boulware
led the team in homers (8) and RBIs (45).

"I think offensively we have a better chance to be a
better team than we were last year," Leggett said. "We've got more depth, we've
got more guys who can run, and we've got more interchangeable parts and more
intra-team competition. We know how we have to play to win, so I like the fact
that we've got a little more to choose from."

The Tigers also have plenty of motivation, as no one has
forgotten the way that last season ended. Almost to a man, they made it clear
they were chomping at the bit to hit the practice field Saturday despite the
bitter cold.

"It's always a motivating factor, whether you lose in the
regional, super regional, or in Omaha, it always stinks getting on the bus and
starting over again," Leggett said. "It's always a motivating factor, but at
the same time - every year is new, and we've got a bunch of good players out here who are motivated to get to Omaha and play for a National Championship."